The possibility to apply the deconstruction and reuse methods created in one context to another depends on the types and details of the precast systems. Therefore, an open database, in line with EU’s goals for open data, is established for precast technologies (roughly from 1945 to today) to identify, order, and create a taxonomy of relevant building, component and connection types.

This knowledge is built upon Alonso and Palmarola’s mapping of post-war precast concrete housing systems, which KTH has participated in, and it is supplemented in particular with knowledge about precast solutions for non-residential purposes, as well as for any geographical gaps (within EU) in the current data. The work draws from the expertise of Consolis’s subsidiaries across Europe and it is complemented by further contemporary research on concrete precast systems.

An analysis of the element order/taxonomy situates the precast concrete systems in geographical, architectural, and sustainability contexts. The analysis, taxonomy and the resulting database gather the technological knowledge created in the WPs 2–5 and enable their application beyond the pilots.

The aims are:
• to identify, map, order, and analyse precast concrete systems and components used in the EU historically and at present
• to create a taxonomy of system, building, component and connection types
• to create an open database for precast concrete components in the EU

The deconstruction of existing buildings with prefabricated concrete elements aims at recovering a highest possible number of the elements while maintaining their structural quality and integrity without compromising the health and safety of the deconstruction workers or the people in the vicinity of the deconstruction project. Only this way the underlying project goals, i.e. the reduction of environmental impacts and the highest level of circular use for concrete, stay well within reach. The main goal of WP 2 is a radical improvement of the deconstruction process. The activities to achieve this are:
• The development of a cost-efficient BIM-based pre-deconstruction audit to determine the number, dimensions and other characteristics of the elements to be salvaged that can inform and visualize the deconstruction sequencing and support measures, also contributing to better work safety, and that is digitally integrated with the next steps of the value chain.
• To test and develop deconstruction equipment and working practices to enable faster, safer and less costly deconstruction while ensuring a higher quality for the salvaged components.
• Research, testing and evaluation of deconstruction approaches feeding WP 1 regarding the proneness of different precast component and connector types to deconstruction damage, based on the experience from the practical pilots. Applying the deconstruction approach of WP2 in the pilot projects provide evaluation feedback on the feasibility of solutions, with regard to a certain type of prefab construction elements. The evaluation and learning aspect are integral part of the WP2 both toward the other WP’s as well as to Project goal 6: sharing knowledge and results in open access content.
• Research, testing and evaluation of deconstruction approaches feeding WP 6 regarding the environmental impacts of deconstruction and the influence of using alternative methods for the deconstruction. Also in this case the pilot project provides hard evidence of realized reductions in environmental impacts.

This WP will result in protocols for data sharing in a common environment, which will foster all data created throughout the value chain, and for creating digital instances of the elements, which enables tracing them and their information throughout the process. Each physical element gets a radio frequency identification (RFID) that is paired with its digital representative. This results in a digital inventory, which contains the digital elements in an open file format. What is more, the WP covers making all necessary physical modifications to the elements.

The specific objectives are as follows:
• In order to support the feeding of information into BIM, the WP rely on the use of digital IFC models as established in WP 1 for whole precast systems. The processes developed in this WP include a protocol for the digitalization of individual physical elements (i.e. actual elements to be deconstructed from a donor building). When the digital element is instantiated, the properties of that instance are continuously populated with values throughout the predeconstruction audit, deconstruction, quality management and design processes.

• Smart, digital supply chain management is facilitated by the use of RFID for documenting the components and for automating the feeding of information into BIM; to enable marketing prior to the deconstruction in digital market places and to ensure full traceability later in the process. The digital elements have a unique element ID that is paired with a RFID of the physical elements. Drawing from the needs of the designers in WP 5, the aim is to collect and organize the data in a manner that enables promoting the construction elements on a secondary market. The digital instance of the physical element contains information relevant to designers about the condition and quality of the panels that can be downloaded from online databases when the quality tests are completed. The digital supply chain management aims also to optimize the logistics and to minimize the need for storage.

• Sustainable methods for stripping and cleaning of the elements are developed. The methods must comply with health and safety regulations. Processes for digital optimizing and controlling the cutting is studied. The WP coordinates and implements the practical processing of the elements for the pilots.

The aim of the WP is to develop a standardized low-cost methodology that is as non-destructive as possible to determine the quality and performance of the deconstructed precast concrete components, guaranteeing that their properties are ensured at an acceptable level for new construction. The WP focuses on early phase identification of harmful substances in construction materials and deterioration caused by environmental stresses and use of the structure. The premise is that elements contaminated extensively with harmful substances are not reused, and that the removal of minor contamination needs to be easy and cost effective. The second main focus in WP4 is to ensure the material properties and structural properties of reusable elements via testing as well as to test the new connectors developed for the reassembly process (WP5).

The specific objectives are:
• to create, describe, and demonstrate a robust quality management process for reusing deconstructed structural members that can be developed into a widely accepted and standardized procedure
• to insert the investigation of the elements’ condition into the pre-deconstruction audit
• to determine the material properties and bearing capacity of the deconstructed structural members
• to determine the impacts and viable mitigation measures for the presence of possible deterioration and/or harmful substances in the structures
• to demonstrate to authorities that deconstructed building components and new connections with retrofit connectors fulfil the requirements in building codes and may be safely reused

The key objective of WP5 is to understand and to develop the redesign and reassembly process, in which precast concrete elements are reused in new buildings in a new architectural and structural configuration. In order to develop this process, a thorough understanding of the relevant design parameters and especially a good knowledge about different connector types is necessary. Based on this, the design process, in close collaboration with all stakeholders, is developed and evaluated, which finally yields to four real-life pilot projects in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany.

The specific objectives are:
• to understand the principle technical aspects that influence this process
• to explore the different types of connections in terms of reassembly and future deconstructability
• to develop design approaches suitable for salvaged precast concrete elements
• to understand how the required novel design approaches for reuse influence the way of collaboration and the roles of different disciplines in the design process
• to demonstrate the reuse in new buildings (real-life pilot projects)

The key objective of WP6 is to assess the ecological and the economic impacts (LCA and LCC) of reusing precast concrete components for a new building. The European goals for resource efficiency and climate neutrality can only be achieved if there is substantiated evidence of where there is concrete savings potential. The potential savings are demonstrated by the studies carried out within the pilot project. The processes of the reuse of concrete components are mapped as the basis for the assessments. The emissions can be calculated on the basis of the energy consumption for the individual processes. This is based on currently available data records. As the energy mix (shares of oil, gas, coal, nuclear energy and renewable energies) differs in the states, the scenarios are calculated for the partners involved in the project, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. In order to ensure the traceability of data for all partners, a template and a procedure is developed and shared to the partners. The process balances to be carried out by means of manual calculations in the first step are to be transferred and tested in a computer aided program / instrument in the second step. As a result, an ecological assessment can be carried out quickly for each reuse measure in the future. Based on these results, country-specific environmental product declarations (EPDs) – type III declarations according to ISO 1402565 – for reused prefabricated components are developed, which in turn can be incorporated into certification assessments such as DGNB66, BNB67 etc.

The specific objectives are:
• To model the processes of the construction with reuse of precast concrete components and to develop a plan of ecological and economic assessments
• To compare the LCA and LCC data of three scenarios with the help of the pilot projects: deconstruction + reuse, demolition + recycling, demolition + new construction with virgin materials
• To study the opportunities and the ecological and economic impacts of reuse of precast concrete components on
national and European markets (upscaling potential)
• To study and to assess a potential to reach the national and European sustainability goals
• To develop the EPDs for reuse of precast concrete components to make the LCA and LCC for other buildings possible.

WP 7 aims to accelerate the development of a scalable and profitable business model for reused precast concrete components in different environments. This WP works towards improving the economic viability and market potential of secondary concrete elements by developing business model, trade, logistical and marketing aspects and innovative novel services and platforms. WP 7 works in close collaboration with WP 8 (policy support and social acceptability) to achieve objectives related to society, work and employment and regulative approaches, with the technological WPs 2-5 to ensure and improve the implementation potential of diverse technologies enabling reuse of concrete components so that they are economically possible and business-wise feasible, and with the local pilot projects that are considered cases for WP7.

The objectives of WP 7 are:
• To showcase the (direct and indirect economic) value of the four real-life pilots
• To analyse what enables (a) profitable (b) scalable business models for deconstruction and reuse at the company level and at the system / value chain level
• To analyse how construction and digital technologies and tools enable business-making in the circular value chain; what are the critical technologies; how do they contribute to economic value creation
• To identify how safety and health translate to economic value, through risks with economic aspects
• To analyse the links between social and legal barriers and economic value
• To share knowledge on the aspects that contribute to or hinder business-making from deconstruction and reuse.

The aim of this WP is to chart the level of policy support and social acceptability for reused precast concrete components and to explore how barriers could be mitigated and the support be increased. The legal possibilities and barriers are examined at the EU, national and local levels for all stakeholders, i.e. building owners, deconstruction companies, component manufacturers, designers, construction firms and end-users. The social acceptability of the components is evaluated for the same stakeholders but including the impact on work and employment for the company stakeholders. WP 7 and WP 8 collaborate extensively: WP 7 focuses on the stakeholders in the tightly defined value chain while WP 8 concentrates on policy stakeholders. The pilot projects will act as case studies and the tasks in this WP will follow the timeline of the national pilot projects.

The specific objectives are:
• To assess the legal possibilities and barriers for the reuse of precast concrete components throughout the circular value chain, in particular concerning building permits, technical requirements/certification and the national application of Eurocodes
• To systematically assess the social acceptability of the reuse of precast concrete components for the relevant stakeholders in the circular value chain, including work and employment aspects
• To explore the mechanisms behind the social acceptance of new materials and new technologies at the intersection of work and business models
• To develop and provide solutions to legal and social barriers to the reuse of precast concrete components

The overall objective of this WP is to coordinate and monitor all activities related to dissemination and communication of ReCreate. The specific objectives of this WP are:
• To strategically plan for dissemination and communication activities
• To support all dissemination and communication with carefully designed visual identity, website and materials
• To identify wide group of different target audiences and to engage in mutual collaboration with different stakeholders
• To raise general awareness about benefits and opportunities of reuse of precast concrete elements among non-specialist audiences through well-planned communication activities in diverse communication channels
• To effectively disseminate ReCreate’s results to different audiences, following open science principles

Objectives:

• To ensure effective and flexible legal, financial and contractual management
• To smoothly and effectively coordinate scientific and technical activities across WPs
• To monitor compliance and progress of the project with respect to the project plan and goals
• To establish practices for fluent communication among consortium partners and third parties, and among the different decision-making bodies
• To ensure that all required reports and deliverables meet the internally defined qualitycriteria and are prepared on time and in the necessary format
• To implement appropriate risk assessment and risk contingency plans if needed
• To implement conflict resolution practices
• To ensure that all ethical, safety and gender issues related to ReCreate are properlyconsidered

Objectives:

• The objective is to ensure compliance with the ‘ethics requirements’ set out in this work package.